Safe And Sound
by frozentreats.chocolatesweets
Summary: A sequel to 'High And Dry.' After waking up back in the Lunar Lamadary, Katherine is now all wrapped up and is forced to lie in pain while North and the others are running around the large building in search of Nightlight who had gone missing. ((I'm so sorry that it's really late with the update.)) All characters belong to William Joyce and the Guardians of Childhood.


As the sounds of the people outside her room door stirred her awake, Katherine opened her eyes in the darkened room and attempted to get up but stopped when a blazing pain shot through her back. Lying back down on her stomach, Katherine clenched her pillow and let out a heavy sigh into the fabric, hoping that no one would hear her and come to check on her like the last few times. Peering at the door to see if anyone was coming and seeing no attempts, Katherine reached over herself and pushed the blankets off her back, letting the cool air run over the bandaged burn marks.

"I wonder is Nightlight is awake yet?" She breathed out but cringed when more pain bloomed on her back.

Closing her eyes, Katherine attempted to fall asleep again but after a while gave up on the idea and moved back to inspecting her bandages. Tightly wrapped Katherine's small figure, the white bandages started just under her arms, moved down and stopped at her waist, while several long pieces came over her right shoulder and crossed onto her chest. Running her hand over the wounded shoulder, the fabric felt rough against her hand and she gritted her teeth when her fingers brushed over the burns under the bandages. Pulling her hand back, she slipped it under her pillow and started to cradle her head. Peering around the room, Katherine though back to last night, when Nightlight had been struck by the lightning and landed them both in the middle of the forest during the night. It wasn't until Katherine had woken up in the Lunar Lamadary, that she was informed about the burn marks on her back. Although the spectral boy protected her from the lightening, a small bit did make it past his armour and continued its path thus passing through Katherine and exiting out her back.

_Nightlight burns are probably worse compared to mine_. Katherine noted a lump formed in her throat.

"You'll be the first one to know when the boy wakes up." Katherine mimicked Bunnymund's words when she asked about the spectral boy.

"He's a bad influence on you." She then mimicked North.

"You're only going to ge-!"

Just then Katherine's rant was put to a halt when she heard her bedroom window shut and something on her desk clatter to the floor, causing the girl to freeze in her spot, not daring to move a muscle. Hoping that it was only who had accidently knocked the item off her desk, Katherine called out to the insect but didn't hear any response. As she listened into the darkness more, she swore she could hear footsteps. Slightly panicking, she pulled her blanket back over herself and hid under them, but the footsteps only drew closer as the seconds past. Feeling a weight at the end of her bed, Katherine pulled her legs close to herself and held her breath. As the person came closer and closer to her, the girl just shrunk more into her bed and hoped that whoever it was would leave soon. The room was completely silent. Neither the intruder nor Katherine moved.

Feeling the invader lean closer to her, Katherine bit down on her lip hard when the person placed a hand directly onto her burnt shoulder and was now leaning over to peer at her face.

"Stop!" Katherine screamed when the pain became unbearable.

Startled from the girls outburst, the intruder jumped back, only to fall off her bed and land on the ground with a soft thud. With the person now off her, Katherine quickly propped herself up fast and stared down at the spot where the person had fallen. Freezing from the small light that was coming from the ground, a grin moved to her face.

"Nightlight?" She called out and soon was Nightlight pop up from the ground, standing straight up.

As soon as she could see the spectral boy, Katherine moved to hug him but was stopped when the lightning pattern burns on her back screamed at her. As she laid on her stomach, head propped with both hands and biting her lip to hold back the slight pain that was blazing on her back, she forced a smile to Nightlight who had shifted so he was now awkwardly rubbing the back of this neck.

"What's wrong?" Katherine questioned noticing the boy's discomfort.

Nightlight just gestured to the girls figure while a blush started to glow on his face.

"Pardon me?"

Looking down to see what Nightlight was gesturing to, Katherine let out a small gasp as she noticed that her bandaged covered chest was now completely exposed, forgetting that she had thrown off her blankets in an attempt to hug Nightlight. Grabbing two big fists full for the fabric, Katherine quickly pulled it over herself as a heavy blush moved onto her face and burn almost as hot as her back. It wasn't even one minutes later when Katherine could feel the weight on her bed again, this time right beside her head.

"I'm sorry." Katherine mumbles as she peeked out from under the covered and glanced up to the spectral boy.

He just gave a few nods while the blush was still visible on his face.

_It's okay. I didn't mean to intrude. _

The last time Katherine had seem Nightlight, he was unconscious and being carried by a Yeti back to the Lunar Lamadary, so while the spectral boy sat in silence on her bed, she took the time to look him over and see what damage had been done to him. Dressed only in a baggy pair on black pants –that contrasted nicely against his glowing skin- a large white bandage was wrapped around his chest and covered his entire rib cage, ending mid-waist. Unlike the girl's Nightlight didn't have any burns over his shoulder, but from what she would tell, most of the injuries were centred in the middle of his back.

"Nightlight," She breathed out and propped herself back up on her elbows, but held the blanket close, still feeling uneasy about Nightlight seeing her like this.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Katherine whispered while swinging her feet and tried to sit up to face the spectral boy.

_No! Don't get up, you'll hurt yourself _Nightlight head shouted as he rose to his knees while holding out his hands and shaking his head.

Instantly stopping from the boy's outburst, Katherine lowered herself back down and hissed as the pain continued to pulse through her spine.

Seeing the girl wince in pain, Nightlight gestured to the girl the wait a moment, then reached a hand into his baggy pants pocket and a moments later, pulled out a small bottle. It was no bigger than his hand and glowed white in the dark room, illuminating their faces at they both stared at the bright liquid that was in the small bottle. Settling back onto the pillow he had been sitting on, Nightlight gently placed the bottle onto the bed and turned to Katherine with a serious face.

"What's wrong?" She questioned feeling the room's atmosphere shift.

Nightlight only responded by motioning for her to sit up.

"B-but…You just said not to move." Katherine argued while the heat increased on her skin.

Nightlight gave a facial expression that read "I know what I said before." but that didn't change his mind, he just kept motioning for Katherine to sit up.

Letting out a small groan, Katherine knew she wouldn't be able to win this fight and shifted her weight, eventually rolling herself so that she was now lying on her side, facing her spectral boy. Biting her lip to hold hand a hiss that forming in her throat, Katherine gave the boy a small smile, letting him know that she was fine. Propping herself up on one elbow, Katherine let out a groan while she finally pushed herself upright, swinging her legs in front of her and sitting cross-legged. With Katherine now in a sitting position, she was forced to sit up straight because it was the least painful way, since arching her back only caused more pain to bloom.

_Now was that so bad?_ Nightlight teased but turned serious once again when the girl didn't respond.

"Wh-Why am I sitting?" Katherine stuttered as the pain continued.

"North said I was to stay lying down for a day or two." She stated while tugging the blanket closer to herself.

Feeling exposed, she quickly wrapped the blanket over her shoulders –not touching her right- and covered herself, hoping not to embarrass herself or Nightlight. Seeing that wearing a nightgown would only be a pain when it came to changing her bandages, Katherine decided that she would wear a pair of long pants to sleep in. Hoping to sleep the rest of the night away with no hitches, Katherine refused to wear a shirt over the bandages, but now that was the only thing she really wanted. Clenching the blanket tightly in front of her, Katherine stared down at swirl on her bedspread, while a blush crept onto her face.

"Why do you want me to sit up?" Katherine wondered and received the usual response of a few hand gestures and a reassuring smile from her Nightlight.

"Whatever you say." She replied, waving a hand allowing Nightlight to continue.

Picking up the small glowing bottle that was placed only a few feet away from him, Nightlight quickly rose to his feet and started to walk around on the bed.

"Where are you going?" Katherine exclaimed as she tried to watch the boy moved around.

Eventually ending up behind the girl, Nightlight placed the bottle on her nightstand and sat down onto her bed again with a small creaking noise.

"Nightlight?" She questioned but couldn't see over her shoulder that well without causing unwanted stress being forced onto her back.

Sucking in a deep breath, Nightlight startled to gently pull at the blanket that was cover the girl's back only causing Katherine to painfully jump forward while letting out a gasp.

"Nightlight!" She squeaked and flushed bright red.

Following Katherine as she scooted away from him, Nightlight's hands never released the blanket and as soon as she relaxed under his touch, the spectral boy continued to pull the fabric off thus exposing her bandaged and burnt back. As an attempt to keep herself covered, Katherine kept a tight grip on the blanket, pulling it close to her chest and face so she could hid her face that was now burning bright red. When the blanket dropped off her lower back, her grip on the fabric tighten while she subconsciously let out a content sigh as her bedroom's cool air ran over her heated back.

Just then, the tightness that was bond around her chest started to become loose.

"Nightlight?" She called but didn't hear a response from her spectral boy.

"I need you to keep absolutely still, or else this will be slightly painful." Nightlight spoke in his sophisticated voice that would make Katherine slightly blush.

"U-uhh…okay." Katherine replied but was sure that he didn't hear her seeing that she was now no louder than a whisper.

The tightness around her chest then continued to become loose.

"U-uhh…Nightlight?" Katherine exclaimed but never released the fabric was that keeping the front of her chest covered.

He gave small hum in acknowledgement.

"What exactly are you doing ba-!" Katherine was cut off when a loud gasp escaped her lips.

Just as Nightlight had finished unraveling a small section of the bandaged that was wrapped about the girl's chest and back, the entire thing just unfolded itself and exposed Katherine's bare back that was now lite up bright red from the burn marks that were placed in the beautiful pattern of lightening. Taking in a silent gasp by the sight of the girl's condition, Nightlight gritted his teeth when he realized that he was unsuccessful in protecting his Katherine. Gently placing several fingers over a large mark, Katherine straighten up more and let out a small whimper only causing Nightlight to quickly draw back his hand.

"N-Nightlight?" She stuttered when embarrassment started to set him, realizing that the only thing keep her from being completely exposed in front of the spectral boy, was her deep red blanket that she clenching tightly to her chest, her knuckles turning white.

Leaning back on his hands, Nightlight continued to inspect the full damage that Katherine had gotten from his inability to keep her safe. After what felt like forever, the spectral boy leaned over to the nightstand, grabbed the little glowing bottle and a nearby cloth. Pulling the top of the bottle off with a small popping noise, Nightlight then dumped its contents onto the cloth which instantly started to glow from whatever Nightlight had pour onto it.

"I need you to arch you back." Nightlight instructed in a cool voice.

"B-but…I shouldn't…uhh…." Katherine tried to form a sentence but nothing was coming out.

"I know it may hurt a lot, but trust me." Nightlight added and turned to give Katherine a reassuring smile.

Listening to Nightlight's request, she started to lean forward and eventually rolled her shoulders forward, thus making her back into an arched positing that resembled a cat stretching. It was no longer than a moment before a cool cloth came in contact with her spine and sent shivering running through her body. Gritting her teeth to contain a gasp from the cool, Katherine just loosened her grip on her blanket, letting the blood flow back into her fingers and making them tingly. Gently dabbing the liquid soaked cloth in the patterns of the lightening, Nightlight reached around himself, picked up the now empty bottle and handed over to Katherine, who hesitantly took it from his hand and started to inspect it.

"Is this what you're putting on my back?" Katherine questioned as she rolled the bottle between her fingers.

He gave quick nod and returned to his task.

"What is it?" Katherine added as she brought it up to her nose, seeing if it had a fragrant.

"It's the centre of a rain cloud." Nightlight spoke out in a cool voice that made the girl shiver.

"H-how did you get it?" She asked only hearing silence as an answer.

As Nightlight moved up her back, he focused on the large strike mark that the lightning had formed and gently dabbed the cloth over the burn. Following the pattern on her skin, he eventually made it there it branched off and moved toward her right shoulder to which he followed when he noticed the pattern thicken and the redness become darker in shade. Drawing closer and closer to the top of her shoulder, Nightlight suddenly stopped when the cloth started to roll over onto a new bandage that the spectral boy hadn't noticed before. Placing the cloth onto her nightstand, Nightlight leaned close to Katherine's shoulder, allowing his dimly glowing skin to illuminate the area as he started to look over the new bandage. This was bandage was different compared to the one that was wrapped around her chest and tied at the back, this one was thicker and seemed to tied not as tight as the others.

Just as the spectral boy started to run his fingers over the unique bandage, Katherine flinched under his soft touch, causing the boy to pull back and freeze in a position that read 'I'm sorry!'

"S-sorry," Katherine whispered then leaned back into him, hoping that he would proceed in dabbing the soothing liquid over the burns.

"Bunnymund said that there was where the lightning exited me, that it'll be sore for a few weeks."

Taking the information into consideration, he started to untied the bandage with ghost-like fingers and before either noticed, the bandage easily slipped off Katherine's shoulder and displayed a thick, bright red lightning mark that started just under her shoulder blade, ran up her back and stopped at her collar bone. Seeing the pain bloom on her shoulder, Nightlight grabbed a hold on the cloth once more and with another ghost-like, he ran the cooling substance over the injury and could now see the colour of the red burn marks turning into pink ones. Letting out a small hum, Katherine finally relaxed her back, the feeling of the cool suppressing the burning feeling that had been blazing her back since she had woken up earlier that day.

Relaxing knowing that Katherine wasn't is any pain, Nightlight moved so that his right side was facing the girl as he outstretched his legs and leaned back on one hand while the other, still holding the wet cloth, was lazily resting over his knee.

"Thank you." She stated and turned her head to the side and was met by Nightlight light blue eyes.

He smiled warmly in approval.

_You're very welcome my Katherine. _

As Nightlight continued to stare into Katherine's now happy eyes, he started to close the gap between them, letting his eyes slide half shut as he glanced between her lips and now slightly closed eyes. Using his lack of height –seeing that he was leaning back while Katherine stand straight up- to his advantage, he straightened himself up just enough to fully bring himself up to her lips to which Katherine took in a surprised quick breath. Moving a hand to guide her chin and bring her closer, Nightlight placed a chaste kiss on her lips and could feel the heat radiating off her flushed face. Letting her Nightlight lead their innocent kiss, she reluctantly released her good hand from her blanket shield and used it to steady herself while she followed Nightlight's form which seemed to be pulling her down. As Katherine leaned more, a shooting pain ran through her spine once again and caused her to bite down hard on the spectral boy's lip. As both drew back in pain, Katherine sat up straight, while Nightlight flopped down onto her bed and brought both hands up to hold his mouth.

"I-I'm so sorry Nightlight!" She stammered while turning back to her boy who now had a bleeding lip.

Covering his mouth for a few more seconds, Nightlight glanced at his hands before dropping them on the bed, revealing his perfectly fixed lip.

_See? Nothing to work about._

Smiling down at the boy, Katherine let out a small giggle that was soon cut off by a yawn.

"I-I should get…get back to sleep." She stated through another small yawn

Pulling his legs close to himself, Nightlight rolled onto his side and was soon kneeling when he helped Katherine back under her covers, keeping in mind not to accidently smack into her back or flush bright red when she laid down, back now completely exposed to him. Nightlight didn't even notice that he was staring at her until Katherine had cleared her throat, causing him to snap out of his daze.

"D-do you mind, umm you know…tying them back together?" She flushed then gestured to her untied bandaged that lay loose on her back and sheets.

Holding back a smirk, Nightlight just moved enough so that he was now leaning over her ear.

"You need the air to help with the healing." He advised then swiftly kissed the girl on her check before disappearing from Katherine's sight.

Hearing a small noise from her desk and her window open, Katherine smiled as Nightlight flew out the opening and into the night sky. With the cool air now directly against her heated back, the girl let out a much deserved sigh of content and she nuzzled into her pillow and let another yawn escape her. Fighting off the sleep that was trying to take her, Katherine noticed the small empty bottle that was discarded on the far side of her bed. Outstretching her arm and grabbing the object, she looked it over once more, before shoving it under her pillow and letting both hands clench it.

"Thank you, Nightlight." She breathed out just as she was falling into a deep sleep.

A/N – I hope you guys liked the little cute ending I did. I was originally just going to end the fanfiction at the end of High And Dry with the two just getting back to the Lunar Lamadary, but figured why not a little fluff before it does end, hence the sequel I did.


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